INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE & BIOLOGY

15608530/2007/092271273
http://www.fspublishers.org

Effect of Water Stress on Crop Yield and Yield Components of

Cantaloupe
M. RASHIDI1 AND K. SEYFI
Varamin Agricultural Engineering Research Department, Agricultural Engineering Research Institute, Iran
1
Corresponding authors e-mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT
The effects of water stress on yield and yield components of cantaloupe (Cucumis melo SP.) were studied. The site was
located at 873 m altitude, 35N latitude and 52E longitude, in arid climate and a clay loam soil in the center of Iran. Four
irrigation treatments based on 10, 30, 50 and 70% available water deficit (AWD) were applied in both the growing seasons.
Irrigation treatments were designed to induce a range of water stress between emergence and harvest. Number of fruits per
plant, fruit weight and fruit thickness were measured and consequently crop yield and water use efficiency (WUE) were
determined. Results indicated that water stress significantly (P 0.01) affected the number of fruits per plant and fruit weight,
but there was no significant variation in fruit thickness among the irrigation treatments. Number of fruits per plant and fruit
weight was highest at 30% and lowest for the treatment irrigated based at 70% AWD. Furthermore, water stress significantly
affected yield of cantaloupe in the order of 10% > 30% > 50% > 70% AWD. The highest crop yield (29.10 t ha-1) was
obtained for the treatment applied based on 10% AWD. The yield from other treatments varied between 26.62 and 18.78 t ha-1
and found to be lowest (17.26 t ha-1) for the treatment irrigated based on 70% AWD. The WUE of the treatments irrigated
based on 10 and 30% AWD were markedly higher than the other treatments. The highest WUE (0.88 t ha-1 cm-1) was obtained
at 30% and lowest (0.52 t ha-1 cm-1) at 70% AWD. Among the treatments, 30% AWD was more effective in improving WUE.
Key Words: Water stress; Cantaloupe; Yield; Water use efficiency

INTRODUCTION
Cantaloupe (Cucumis melo) is one of the most
important vegetable crops of Iran and it ranks fifth in
cultivated area and production after tomato, cucumber,
watermelon and melon. The average production of
cantaloupe has been 750 thousands tones during the last five
years. The soil and climatic are ideal for cantaloupe
production in Iran but aridity is a dominant factor for
limiting the economical yield.
Water is a major constituent of living organism. It
comprises about 80 - 90% of fresh weight of herbaceous
plants and over 50% of woody plants. Water furnishes a
suitable medium for many biochemical reactions. Also,
sufficient water must be present in active crop root zone for
germination, evapotranspiration, nutrient absorption by
roots, root growth and soil microbiological and chemical
processes that aid in the decomposition of organic mater and
mineralization of nutrients. These factors are necessary for
sustaining crop growth on a particular field (Fitter, 1981).
Under limited water supply conditions the farmer
tends to increase the irrigation interval, which creates water
stress (Jain et al., 2000). Water stress is one of the most
important factors affecting every aspect of plant growth
(Rahman et al., 2004). Physiological changes in plants,
which occur in response to water stress conditions decrease
photosynthesis and respiration (Hall et al., 1990) and as a
result overall production of the crop is decreased. As deficit
irrigation results in crop water stress and reduced crop
yields water must be applied frequently to avoid crop water
stress and adequately to recharge the active plant root zone

(Sammis et al., 2000).

Although the effects of water stress on growth and
yield of different crops have been studied during the last
years (Tahir & Mehdi, 2001; Aslam & Tahir, 2003; Ahmad
et al., 2003; Kumaga et al., 2003; Hussain et al., 2004;
Khan et al., 2004; Rahman et al., 2004) very little work has
been done to study the effects of water stress on cantaloupe
in arid lands of Iran. The present work was, therefore carried
out to study the effects of water stress on crop yield and
yield components of cantaloupe.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The field experiments pertaining to the effects of
different water stress level on the crop yield and yield
components of cantaloupe were conducted during 2004 and
2005 growing seasons in the Garmsar, Iran. The site is
located at 873 m altitude, 35N latitude and 52E longitude,
in arid climate in the center of Iran, where the summers are
dry and hot while winters are cool. The soil of the
experiment site is a fine, mixed, thermic, Typic
Haplacambids clay-loam soil with bulk density of 1.46 g
cm-3, field capacity of 23% and wilting point of 9.5% (dry
basis weight).
The experiment was consisted of four irrigation
treatments based on 10, 30, 50 and 70% available water
deficit (AWD). Irrigation treatments were designed to
induce a range of water stress between emergence and
harvest. The experiment was laid out in a randomized
complete block design (RCBD) having three replications.
The net plot size was 10.0 m 6.0 m. A buffer zone of 3.0

RASHIDI AND SEYFI / Int. J. Agri. Biol., Vol. 9, No. 2, 2007

lowest (1030 g) for the treatment irrigated based on 70%
AWD (Table II).
Fruits thickness. A non-significant effect of different water
stress treatments on fruit thickness was found during both
the years of study (Table I). However, the highest fruit
thickness (3.60 cm) was obtained at 30% and lowest (3.20
cm) at 70% AWD (Table II).
Crop yield of cantaloupe. A significant effect of different
water stress treatments on crop yield of cantaloupe was also
found during the years of study (Table I). The mean crop
yield of cantaloupe in different water stress treatments
(mean of 2004 & 2005) revealed that the highest crop yield
(29.10 t ha-1) was obtained at 10% and lowest (17.26 t ha-1)
at 70% AWD (Table II).
Water applied and water use efficiency (WUE). Total
amounts of irrigation water applied to each water stress
treatment during both the years of study (mean of 2004 &
2005) showed that the highest amount of irrigation water
(39.0 cm) was applied at 10% and lowest (30.0 cm) at 30%
AWD. The WUE of treatments irrigated based on 10% and
30% AWD were markedly higher than the other treatments.
The highest WUE (0.88 t ha-1 cm-1) was obtained at 30%
and lowest (0.52 t ha-1 cm-1) at 70% AWD. The WUE for
other treatments varied from 0.56 to 0.75 t ha-1 cm-1.

m was maintained between plots. There were two furrows in

each plot. The furrows had 10.0 m long, 75 cm wide and 50
cm depth and crop was sown on the both sides of each
furrow by keeping plant to plant distance 50 cm.
In both growing seasons, moldboard plow and disk
harrow were used for tillage operations and furrower for
making furrows in the plots. Cantaloupe variety Varamin
Samsoori was sown manually at the rate of 2.5 kg ha-1 on 5th
May. The seed moisture and germination percentage were 5
and 95%, respectively. Recommended levels of N (450 kg
ha-1), P (100 kg ha-1) and K (100 kg ha-1) were used as Urea,
TSP and SOP, respectively. All other necessary operations
such as pest and weed controls were performed according to
general local practices and recommendations. For all
treatments, irrigation scheduling was based on the basis of
10, 30, 50 and 70% depletion of the available soil water.
The calculation assumed the soil to be at field capacity after
establishment irrigation being applied to all treatments.
The main components observed in this study were
number of fruits per plant, fruit weight and fruit thickness.
Total three pickings of cantaloupe were taken. The weight
and thickness of fruits from each plot were recorded at each
peaking. Then, the total crop yield and WUE were
determined for all treatments. The effectiveness of any crop
to use water during its complete growth period is generally
described in terms of WUE and is expressed as ratio of total
crop yield to total depth of water applied to crop including
effective rainfall during its complete growth period (Jain et
al., 2000; Steyn et al., 2000):

DISCUSSION
In this study, there was significant difference in
number of fruits per plant and fruit weight but no
difference was recorded in fruit thickness among the
different water stress treatments. However, water stress
affected yield components in the order of 30% AWD >
10% AWD > 50% AWD > 70% AWD. The highest value
of number of fruits per plant (3.77), fruit weight (1520 g),
and fruit thickness (3.60 cm) was observed at 30%, while
lowest value of number of fruit per plant (2.03), fruit
weight (1030 g) and fruit thickness (3.20 cm) were noted
at 70% AWD treatments. Also, water stress significantly
affected crop yield of cantaloupe in the order of 10% >
30% > 50% > 70% AWD. The highest value of crop yield
(29.10 t ha-1) was obtained at 10% AWD treatment, while
lowest value of crop yield (17.26 t ha-1) was obtained at
70% AWD treatment. The higher value of crop yield
obtained at 10% AWD might be due to the more frequent
application of water resulting in more adequate moisture
in active crop root zone, sufficient moisture conservation,
and better utilization of nutrients. At 70% AWD, low crop
yield obtained may be due to infrequent application of
water resulting in a lack of moisture in active crop root
zone, inadequate moisture conservation, and poor nutrient
utilization (Tahir & Mehdi, 2001; Aslam & Tahir, 2003;
Ahmad et al., 2003; Kumaga et al., 2003; Hussain et al.,
2004; Khan et al., 2004; Rahman et al., 2004).

WUE=CY/WA
Where:
WUE = water use efficiency, t ha-1 cm-1
CY = total crop yield, t ha-1
WA = total depth of water applied, cm.
Data on crop yield and yield components were
recorded by using standard procedures. All the data were
subjected to analysis of variance as proposed by Steel and
Torrie (1984) and treatment means were compared by
Duncans Multiple Range test at 1% probability. The SPSS
software was used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS
Number of fruits per plant. A significant effect of
different water stress treatments on number of fruits per
plant was noted during both the years of study (Table I).
The highest number of fruits (3.77 plant-1) was obtained at
30% and lowest (2.03) at 70% AWD (Table II).
Fruits weight. A significant effect of different water stress
treatments on fruit weight was also found during the years
of study (Table I). The highest fruit weight of 1520 g was
obtained for the treatment irrigated based on 30% AWD and

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EFFECT OF WATER STRESS ON CANTALOUPE / Int. J. Agri. Biol., Vol. 9, No. 2, 2007
Table I. Mean squares from the analysis of variance of
crop yield and yield components of cantaloupe under
different water stress treatments (mean of 2004 &
2005)
Source of
variation

Degree
of
freedom
Replications 2
Treatments 3
Error
6
CV (%)
--**
NS

Crop yield
104578.10NS
100985089.40**
893993.42
4.12

Number
of fruits
per plant
0.06NS
1.83**
0.12
11.12

Fruit
weight

Fruit
thickness

443.36NS
131919.45**
6007.78
6.25

0.13NS
0.13NS
0.30
15.93

CONCLUSSION
Water stress significantly affected crop yield, number
of fruits per plant and fruit weight but there was no
significance variation in fruit thickness among the different
water stress treatments. The highest crop yield was obtained
for the treatment irrigated based on 10% AWD, while the
highest number of fruits per plant, fruit weight and fruit
thickness was obtained for the treatment irrigated based on
30% AWD. Also, irrigation based on 30% AWD was found
to be more effective irrigation method in improving WUE.

= Significant at 0.01 probability level

= Non-significant

REFERENCES

Table II. Comparison of the means for crop yield and

yield components of cantaloupe between different
water stress treatments (mean of 2004 & 2005)

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stability of nine wheat varieties under water stress conditions. Int. J.
Agric. Biol., 1: 79
Aslam, M. and M.H.N. Tahir, 2003. Correlation and path coefficient
analysis of different morpho-physiological traits of maize inbreds
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Fitter, A.H., 1981. Environmental Physiology of Plants. Bulletin
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Hall, A.J., D.J. Conner and D.M. Whitfield, 1990. Root respiration during
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growth and photosynthetic pigments of corn (Zea mayz L.) cultivars.
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(Received 25 August 2006; Accepted 28 December 2006)

Fruit
Fruit
Treatments Crop yield Number
of fruits per plant weight g Thickness cm
t ha-1
10% AWD 29.10 a
3.60 a
1270 a
3.57 a
30% AWD 26.62 a
3.77 a
1520 b
3.60 a
1150 a
3.27 a
50% AWD 18.78 b
3.07 ab
70% AWD 17.26 b
2.03 b
1030 a
3.20 a
Means in the same column with different letters differ significantly at 0.01
probability level according to Duncans Multiple Range test

Table III. Water applied and water use efficiency

(WUE) of different water stress treatments (mean of
2004 & 2005)
Treatments
10% AWD
30% AWD
50% AWD
70% AWD

Water applied cm
39.0
30.0
32.5
33.0

Water use efficiency t ha-1 cm-1

0.75
0.88
0.56
0.52

In the present study, effects of water stress on water

applied and WUE was also investigated. The results of the
study indicated that water stress markedly affected water
applied in the order of 30% AWD < 50% AWD < 70%
AWD < 10% AWD and increased WUE in the order of
30% AWD > 10% AWD > 50% AWD > 70% AWD. The
WUE of the treatments irrigated based on 10 and 30%
AWD were markedly higher than that of the other
treatments. The treatment irrigated based on 30% AWD
attained the highest WUE of 0.88 t ha-1 cm-1 because this
treatment consumed less water than the other treatments
and produced comparative higher yield than them. The
lowest WUE (0.52 t ha-1 cm-1) realized for the treatment
irrigated based on 70% AWD can be ascribed to the fact
that more water was applied to this treatment than the
other treatments, while yield of this treatment was less
than them.

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